John Brownlee took a look at why the iconic Heinz ketchup bottle looks the way it does:

Ketchup became popular in the late 1800s and at the time there was only two months in the tomato season. To make sure they could sell ketchup throughout the year, manufacturers filled it with deadly preservatives.

In one study 90% of all ketchups were found to contain ingredients that could cause death.

When Heinz figured out a way to make preservative-free ketchup year-round he put them in clear glass bottles so that the world could see how fresh it was.

Heinz also brags about its 57 varieties – however this has never been true. When the label first appeared Heinz had over 60 varieties.

Instead the number is simply a marketing ploy – a combination of Heinz’s favourite numbers that allowed him to brag about the breadth of his products.

Today it serves as the point which consumers should tap to maximize the chances of getting ketchup flowing out of the bottle.

Read more about the history of ketchup, it’s fish oil origins, the vile state of ketchup in the 1800s, and the physics of ketchup over here.